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Red Markers are native copies of an original Black Marker that had landed on a planet with intelligent life forms.

No matter the species, a Black Marker can influence any planet’s given inhabitants (usually the apex/dominant species) to create Red Markers under the guise of limitless energy; unaware of the manipulation, said inhabitants' typical reasoning for creating duplicates is usually the harvest of a natural resource for energy purposes. In reality, Red Markers merely propagate the spread of the Necromorph life form and its subsequent Convergence Event.

By design, they resemble and function like their precursors. The marked difference, however, is the red pigment which they carry. The red hue likely came from bismuth, a type of metal used to replace certain elements of the Black Marker that human scientists were lacking in order to create a perfect duplication[2]. This particular trait may or may not cross all species who create Markers; the Red Markers created by the alien race of Tau Volantis were predominantly black, their veins the only prominent red feature.

When activated, the copies emit a highly-tuned frequency to its surroundings that, when coming into contact with dead organic tissue, reanimates the cells, thus creating Necromorphs. No matter the size of the Red Marker created, the signal's strength remains the same. Even when a Marker is destroyed, unless utterly obliterated, the carrier wave will continue emitting from its shards. Once all fragments of a Marker are destroyed, the signal stops and all Necromorphs created would be destroyed- -reduced to a inanimate sludge unless brought back into the proximity of another Marker[3][4].

The effects of living humans exposed to this frequency varies. A majority of humans are unable to decipher the signal, thus perceiving it as mere "noises", images and meanings without coherence, which ultimately causes the person to become paranoid and prone to constant hallucinations. It was hypothesized that this was attributed to some undefined aspect of the individual's intelligence.[5] Notable examples of this tactic can be seen in Dr. Kyne and Isaac Clarke, as Marker 3A urged them both to return it to its proper place.

A Red Marker tends to create the illusion of a loved one; Dr. Kyne often conversed with his dead wife, Kendra Daniels repeatedly saw her dead brother, and Isaac Clarke saw his deceased girlfriend. A Convergence Event can be triggered by a single Red Marker alongside the mass of dead tissue created by the Necromorph contagion it perpetuated; the number of Red Markers present may merely assist in hastening the process.

Earth Government, despite its apparent awareness of a Red Marker's nature, continue to manufacture the copies in the name of creating energy resources or conducting experiments, using the research information compiled by Michael Altman[6]. As a result the number of test labs housing Red Markers behind shrouds have been targeted and used against them by the likes of devout Unitologists like Jacob Danik and his Circle[7].

Following the events of 2514, it can be assumed that an intelligence is driving the particular hallucinations each person is seeing; hence the deliberate sabotage of the food stores on Tau Volantis, forcing non-infected personnel to eat infected flesh and become Feeders.

It is possible that Marker 3A was using promises of halting the outbreak in order to be returned to Aegis VII so that it could use the, presumably, greater biomass of the entire infected colony to achieve Convergence. This is supported by the pulse Marker 3A releases after being returned to the pedestal, which appears to be identical to the pulse released on New Horizons and Titan Station. Whether the Marker would have truly stopped the Hive Mind or not is unknown since Kendra had removed it from the pedestal immediately after it was placed there by Issac, although the former is most likely true since there was no Necromorph activity on the planet prior to the Marker's removal.

It is also possible that Marker 3A allowed Isaac to escape, so that the information stored in his brain could be used to create more Red Markers.

The Site 12 Marker sent Isaac horrific hallucinations of Nicole in order to trick him into being absorbed by it as Isaac accepted Nicole's death, since the previous method of manipulation would be ineffective; i.e. controlling his actions by using his motivation to save a loved one on the Ishimura versus using his guilt and desire to make up for former failings and his part in the outbreak on Titan Station. It’s also possible that it used Stross to manipulate Isaac by proxy, as he was shown to be more prone to its hallucinations.

The Red Marker, like the other Markers, resembles the double helical structure of z-DNA, one of 3 helix forms that active DNA can take.[8]

The marker signal, is actually broadcasted to the markers by the Brethren Moons.

In Dead Space, whenever Isaac approaches Marker 3A, it seems to emit what sounds like several people chanting. What the voices are saying seem to be the Latin phrase "Sumus hic morte, nostra sanctos deus", loosely translating in English to "We are here in death, our holy god". It's very likely to be a Brethren Moon or multiple communicating through the Marker itself.

Marker 3A and the Site 12 Marker have seemingly different effects during both games. The first one seemed only to want to cull Necromorph outbreaks and keep them from happening, while the second appeared actively to cause Necromorphs to form and worsen Isaac's dementia. This is the result of two conflicting forces surrounding the Markers; in Dead Space: Martyr, these conflicting effects can be seen simultaneously among the scientists researching the Black Marker. While some see dead relatives telling them to stop their research, warning them of "Convergence," others hear whispers "from the Marker" telling them that it offers eternal life through Convergence.